Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) Shares Bought by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 20,367,100 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 282,156 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 0.13% of Atmos Energy worth $2,836,526,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 33.3% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. now owns 8,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,114,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 50.0% in the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC grew its position in Atmos Energy by 12.4% in the 4th quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 348,988 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $48,604,000 after buying an additional 38,459 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 12.7% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 6,029 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $840,000 after buying an additional 681 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 11.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 58,229 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,077,000 after buying an additional 5,884 shares in the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

ATO stock opened at $148.43 on Wednesday. Atmos Energy Co. has a one year low of $110.97 and a one year high of $154.55. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $146.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $142.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.56 billion, a PE ratio of 21.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.90% and a return on equity of 8.89%. On average, analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th were paid a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on ATO shares. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $156.00 price objective on the stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Atmos Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Argus raised Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $149.15.

About Atmos Energy

Atmos Energy Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the regulated natural gas distribution, and pipeline and storage businesses in the United States. It operates through two segments, Distribution, and Pipeline and Storage. The Distribution segment is involved in the regulated natural gas distribution and related sales operations in eight states.